Banting Guru November 2015

Eat Better, South Africa The Tim Noakes Foundation kicks off a new project in Ocean View, Cape Town 1

Dr Jeans, who specialises in sport and exercise medicine, answers your LCHF questions Page 14

Why intermittent fasting is good for you Page 8

We tell yoursuccess stories Pages 4 and 16

Issue: 2 Volume: 1 November 2015

All you need to know about the LCHF lifestyle TM

Dr Hassina Kajee (left) and Jo Anne Meyer

2 Banting Guru November 2015

The information contained in Banting Guru should not be considered as medical advice. The articles and any information is meant as a guide and anyone following the suggested eating plan, or recipes contained herein is advised to seek the opinion of a medical professional before embarking on this or any new eating plan or diet. Shiva Media (which publishes Banting Guru), its affiliates, employees and contractors will not be held liable for the use of any information contained in this magazine and it will not be held responsible for the views expressed in this magazine.

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CONTENTSFasting is the new F-wordPages 8-10

The green, orange and red lists will tell you which foods to eat and which ones to avoid at all costs Pages 24-26

Six scrumptious recipes Pages 18-23

Two readers take us on their Banting journeysPages 4 and 16

The last word: Stop beating yourself up 7

Eat better, South Africa! Page 11

Banting Guru November 2015 3

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A “carboholics anonymous’ meeting taking place in my mind.

“Hi every-one. My name is Sukasha and I’m a carboholic.”

The group in sing-song unison: “H-e-l-l-o S-u-u- …”

Whispers from the group: “What’s her name again?”

“Su something.”“No, Car something.”“No, you twerps, it’s Cash

something.”“Let’s just go with the standard

greeting.”The group in sing-song unison:

“H-e-l-l-o n-e-w l-a-d-y.”“So I fell off the wagon today.

Quite spectacularly.”Audible gasps.“I had been clean for about two

months, but I just couldn’t help myself, you know? Work has been so stressful and my boss is such a chop. I just couldn’t say no. I had to give in.”

Someone in the group: “What did you have?”

“Gulab jamuns.”

The group: “Huh?”“It’s an Indian sweetmeat, a

delicacy. It’s made of flour, butter, spices and oodles of sugar. Then it’s fried, dipped in syrup and rolled in desiccated coconut.”

A single thread of drool starts to fall from the lips of a guy sitting in front of me. He looks like my Staffie when I’m about to give her biltong. He stares at me as if I’m a gigantic gulab jamun, so I move on from the description.

“It was horrible, but amazing, but horrible. I mean, it tasted divine, but then I could feel my heart pounding and my brain felt fuzzy. Now, I have a hangover headache that just won’t go away and my stomach hurts. I don’t know why I did it. I feel so ashamed.”

A grizzly old guy, who looks like Gandalf after a fight with a Balrog, stands up and makes his way to the podium, so I move out of his way and take a seat.

“Hmm. Thank you, Miss, erm, thank you. Before I give anyone else an opportunity to share their experience, I want to talk about what this lady has shared.”

People shuffle in their seats and lean forward ever so slightly.

The grizzly guy takes a deep breath.

“We have all been there, haven’t we? We have all given in to greed, fallen off the wagon and succumbed to desire, haven’t we?

“But do we understand why we do this? Do we ever reflect on what motivated us to fall in this way? Because that’s the important part. Sure, it’s of utmost importance to give up carbs, sugar and processed crap, but when you eat something you know you’re not supposed to, you need to appreciate what compelled you to do so.”

People in the group seem to be considering what he’s saying.

“Falling off the wagon is never a big deal, but if you’re spending more time off the wagon than on the wagon, you have an underlying problem that you’re ignoring and you will never progress until you figure out what that problem is.”

Whispers from the group: “Wow. He’s so, like, deep, hey?”

“Totally, dude.”Banting Guru Editor, Sukasha Singh (Email [email protected] to share your stories or recipes with us.)

‘Carboholics anonymous’E

dit

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Title: The Real Meal RevolutionWriters: Professor Tim Noakes, Sally-Ann Creed, Jonno Proudfoot and David GrierPublisher: Quivertree Publications

If there’s one book you need to read to understand everything you need to know about Banting, The Real Meal Revolution is it.

Yes, there are several low-carb high-fat (LCHF) diet books out there and they are all worth reading, but this book offers a very holistic take on this phenomenon sweeping across South Africa and several other countries too.

The book starts off with explaining how the low-fat diet became prominent in the Seventies and it delves into how we were all duped into believing that fat was bad.

The authors then take us through the science supporting the Banting diet as well as the many health benefits of following an LCHF lifestyle.

There are important facts to consider, such as

these: “Insulin, your body’s defence mechanism against carbs, both transforms carbs/glucose into fat and then stores it by preventing it from being used. The result? You get fat.”

“Because carbohydrates are nutrient-deficient and often packaged with salt and sugar, you feel the need to eat more of them, thereby putting yourself into a near-perpetual cycle of weight gain.”

Importantly, the authors take us through what will happen once our bodies are carb-free as well as addressing concerns about common queries such as whether you should be Banting if you’re pregnant, menopausal, diabetic et cetera.

There are about 200 pages of Banting recipes, which cover everything from breakfast to hors doeuvres, dinner, bread, Banting mayo and much more.

The book ends off with more in-depth explanations about why carbs are non-essential, how destructive the low-fat, high-sugar diet is and how the industrialisation of corn production in America snowballed into a global health crisis. n

Read this book


1 The most important rule about Banting is to eat real food, not pre-packaged, food-like

substances kept fresh by preservatives.

2 Embrace fat, especially good, healthy fats such as butter, olive oil, avocados and lard.

3 Banting is not a high-protein diet. It’s high in good fats and veggies with a moderate amount

of protein and it’s very low on carbs.

4 Understand the difference between good carbs (such as carb-rich vegetables like sweet potatoes

and pumpkin) and bad carbs (such as potatoes and processed foods like bread, pasta and white flour). And don’t eat grains or seed oils.

5 Dairy products are good as long as they are full-fat. However, understand that all food contains

some amount of carbs and high-fat dairy is especially carb-rich, so if your goal is to lose weight, limit your

dairy intake.

6 Do not drink fruit juices, fruit concentrates and fizzy soft drinks such as Coke.

7 If you’re reluctant about some of the rules, the one rule to follow is to stop eating sugar and to

educate yourself about hidden sugar in low-fat prod-ucts and ubiquitous items such as bread.

8 Don’t eat too much fruit, especially fruit high in sugar. Occasionally, you can have low-carb, low-

sugar fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, goose-berries and other similar fruit.

9 Don’t be dismayed if you’re not losing weight as quickly as others. Take it at your own pace.

10 Try not to snack. Eat until you’re full and don’t eat if you’re not hungry. If you’re

getting enough fat with your meals, you won’t need more than three meals a day.

10 things about Banting

Photo: PicJumbo


My Banting When did you start Banting and why? How did you learn the rules about Banting?I started my banting experience on 1 September 2014. I had very low self-esteem, but I decided to do something about it and my mother encouraged me to follow this lifestyle. So I had to cut out carbs and starches and that’s how my mother came to find out about Banting.And by doing it, she told me about it, so I started following the Banting lifestyle too.

What was your initial experience of Banting? Did you find it easy or difficult to stick to?In the beginning, I just stopped my old lifestyle right away. I got really sick because it was a shock to my system. For two weeks, I was sick.But I followed the Banting lifestyle and pushed through and it was really tough the first two months, but my body adjusted and got used to this and it became easier.

How many other diets did you try before Banting and what was your experience with those other diets?I have been on other diets and they have worked, but they have downfalls. For instance, I was once on a vegetable soup diet and lost 10kg in two weeks because it’s just liquid, but it gets boring eating

the same stuff every day.So I stopped after two weeks and just three days after that, I had gained the 10kg back, which seems impossible, but it happened.I was also on the Scarsdale diet, but food was not tasty and very limited, so I stopped that as well.

Take us through your meals for the day and the week. What did you normally have for breakfast, lunch and supper?

I do not have a fixed menu. I mix things up.Breakfast: eggs and bacon fried in coconut oil. Lunch: chicken fillet and green veggies. Supper: any meat with green veggies.What I used to eat was this. Breakfast: Four sandwiches with whatever on. Lunch: fish and chips, or pies, or leftover food from previous night. Supper: every meal I had for supper, no matter what it was, always had bread with it.

Kegan Palvie, (23) tells us how he shed 35kg

Kegan Palvie before (left) banting and after (right)


journey

Did you incorporate dairy products into your diet? If so, how much?At the start, I replaced all my fizzy drinks with full cream milk and consumed about four litres a day as I thought this aided my weight-loss. But, after a few months, I put a stop to dairy because it put a stall on my weight-loss.

What treats did you allow yourself and how often?Every two months, I would have

pizza or pasta to spoil myself.

Did you experience any medical benefits to the low-carb high-fat lifestyle? Did you notice any changes to your body in addition to the weight loss?Yes, I did. I feel alive, full of en-ergy not sluggish any more and because I no longer eat so much acidic food, my osteoarthritis has gotten so much better.I also have weak knees and they

used to go out of joint quite often and now because I’ve lost so much weight, I hardly have a problem any more.

How long have you been Banting and how much weight/centimetres have you lost in that time?I have been doing it since 1 September 2014. I have lost 35kg since then and have dropped from a size 44 waist to a 34 waist and my original weight was 132kg.

Do you exercise or work out? If so, what do you do and why?From day 1, I have done two to three minutes of exercise every day such as push-ups, sit-ups and planking. Anything to get the heart pumping.I did this because it aided my weight loss a lot.

What advice would you give fellow Banters who aren’t losing weight?Don’t give up. There were times I did not drop weight for two months and I wanted to quit. I fell into a depression, but I thought this is the road to the new me and it’s not going to be easy, but I must push through. And if you really want to lose weight, you will just stay strong and set your mind to it. Remember, if your weight has not dropped, your body might need some good carbs once a week to get back to losing weight. That is what worked for me. n

Kegan went from a size 44 waist to 34. Photos: Kegan Palvie


Fastingnew F-word

is the

Fasting is to life as the mind is to the brain. It helps to guaran-tee healthy aging as well as a life free of cancer,

diabetes, strokes and heart dis-ease. Fasting partners perfectly with Banting and before you turn you nose up, think of this: without fasting, you could rudely sever 20 years off your life.

Recently, I rocked with two centenarians (104 and 105) at the World Congress for Healthy Ag-ing and I joined an aerobics class led by octogenarians pushing 90. They appeared to fast by default, rejecting late dinners.

“I like my food at five”, they said and they ate sparingly. Oh yes, at my age of thirty three and a third years recurring, I still rock to the sound of Little Richard and Elvis. I can tango and salsa with the best of the Argentinians. Okay, I might be boasting a little.

At the height of the 2012 Olym-pics in Britain, the BBC aired a one-hour documentary, Eat Fast Live Longer, produced by Dr Michael Mosely. It drew on the wisdom of Dr Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute and Dr Mark Mattson, chief of the United States Laboratory of Neurosci-ence at the National Institute on Aging. Intermittent fasting (or IF) proved this is no fad.

Nothing has ever competed as aggressively for viewership as the doctors shared their knowledge on fasting for rapid weight loss and health. The broadcaster re-corded several million viewers.

More than 2 000 people had voluntarily participated in an intermittent fast prior to the pro-gramme with irrefutable results, which were picked up in turn by the mass media around the world.

History tells a quirky taleHas it ever bewildered you how people who have been incarcer-

ated for decades, on release, live to ripe old ages, easily exceeding 95 years? Nelson Mandela is one of many. No, it’s not the incar-ceration that did it, but the long periods between meals, in other words a forced intermittent fast. The effects seem to last a lifetime as does a history of exercise in adolescence. Inmates, however, had no option. A leading patholo-gist, William Boyd, as early as the Fifties, confirmed what we know today, but chose to ignore then. “I am now convinced that atheroma, the deadly plaque found in arter-


Dr Denise Bjorkman is a neuroscience field researcher with special interests in nutrition. Post-doctoral studies in neuroscience have focused her attention on health, longevity, education, memory and political behaviour.

She currently lectures in 16 countries on neuroscience and Prof Candace Pert’s research on neuro peptides and Molecules of Emotion. She also does neuroscience-related commentary on political elections for global broadcasting networks.

Her work includes forensic profiling in major criminal trials and global terrorism on which she is an authority. She is a co-owner of a Wellness Clinic specialising in mental health.

ies, can be reversed. Pathologists who performed post-mortem operations on long-term, grossly malnourished inmates found that starvation had removed lipids or fats from lesions. Atheroma can therefore be controlled by dietary restrictions.”

Fasting devours atheromatous plaque, making your arteries supple and pliable again. It simply rejuvenates. In August, the World Health Organisation announced that the child who will live to 150 years of age has already been born. Not if his parents deprive him of his right to real, not-processed, food. With the wrong genes, a gluten-flooded diet can cut off 80 of those years, adding to visceral fat and early heart dis-ease. One brain specialist opines that you begin aging from 35 and, by 55, you are a confirmed mem-ber of the club.

All leading religions promote fasting as if by an archetypal col-lective wisdom. It would have made Karl Jung happy in the past and it certainly buys into the su-per connectedness of the quan-tum physics theory of today. The

spiritual value of fasting and the accompanying journey of self-dis-covery, inner peace and harmony is well documented.

Fasting also promotes deep sleep and better memory.

Now, the trace elements Your body needs magnesium. During fasting, magnesium is elevated in the body and it pre-vents atheroma. Magnesium also prevents platelet formation in the veins and arteries therefore blocking the extended growth of

a life-threatening clot. Magnesium after a heart attack enhances your chances of recovery. One 500ml can of your favourite carbon-ated soft drink takes up 30mgs of phosphate, which binds in the bowel, preventing the absorption of magnesium. Think twice before you reach for one.

Magnesium deficiency promotes depression. The higher your intake of magnesium, the lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. The list goes on.

Fasting helps to block the fre-quency of epileptic fits, reduce migraine attacks, tinnitus, fibro-myalgia and premenstrual tension. Potassium partners with magnesi-um as one of the must haves. It is also a heart protector. It reduces systolic and diastolic blood pres-sure readings more than magne-sium alone.

Fasting and the brainYou have 10 billion neurons (nerve cells) in the super highway and grid of your brain and with-out a good night’s sleep, short-term memory battles to convert to long-term memory.

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How to do 6-10 fasting– Eat dinner at 6pm and have nothing but water, black tea or black coffee until 10am the next day.– At 10am, you can have a normal breakfast as well as lunch and dinner before 6pm, if you intend on fasting again.– Start with two or three times a week before trying it full time.


From Page 9Shakespeare described it as “sore labour’s bath” and a bath it truly is. We now know that the brain has its own detox wash-out sys-tem of waste toxins every night as we sleep. Without this purge, a type of plaque builds up in the brain leading to neuro-degenerative dis-orders such as Alzheimers.

Fasting intensifies the depth and duration of sleep of particular benefit to an aging population where sleep is — at best — light and disjointed. It helps to wash out the muck that has accumulated during the day. Problem-solving is enhanced after a good sleep too.

Your brain will also pro-duce a flood of endorphins and encephalins, those opioid substances which are overwhelm-ingly stronger than a morphine dose and leave you feeling buoy-ant, focused, alert and happy.

So how is it done?An intermittent fast means that you withdraw from eating any-thing for more than 12 hours and confine your dietary habits to the remaining hours. Fluids are encouraged. Intermittent fasting works on a cellular level. It maxi-mizes your body’s energy factory — the mitochondria, improving insulin sensitivity, raising your me-tabolism and it reduces your risk of getting neurological diseases.

There are a variety of fasting techniques but the best one is the 8-16 formula recommended by Men’s Health editor David Zinc-zenko, who has consulted with leading authorities on the subject globally. He knows them all.

“You eat for eight hours and fast for 16. The best way to get

through the 16 hours fasting period is to sleep through part of it. Choose a schedule which is convenient for you.”

My 16-hour fast is a 6-to-10 choice beginning close to sunset. I jettisoned the myth of having an early breakfast years ago. Break-fast simply means a break-fast. At the Salk Institute, the “fast” is bro-ken close to midday. Think about it. Your ancestors on the fields were driven to natural intermit-tent fasting. By day, they hunted for nuts, venison and berries with no guarantees of finding any, so fasting was thrust on them by dint of their lifestyle in a world devoid of junk food and packaged foods. A fast could have continued for days. By night, they slept.

Dr Mark Mattson of the US Na-tional Institute of Aging confirms his findings.

“This is cutting-edge science no one can ignore any more. Limiting the time you eat protects you from free radicals and heart damage. You

can increase the number of mitochondria in your cells by 35%. Heart cells have more mitochondria than any other cells. It definitely prevents aging and certain cancers. The 8-16 lifestyle chews up dangerous belly fat, which in-creases your risk of all major diseases and is a contribu-tor to death by sleep apnea. Sleep apnea and dementia are linked.”

IF and BantingI have a 35-year-old patient who has GERD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease), a cardiac arrhythmia, sleep apnea with an oxygen satu-ration at night well below 90 (dangerous) and he battles to breathe all day. I now have him on the 8-16

IF Banting. Watch this space for an update next month.

Zinczenko believes you can eat what you like in your chosen eight hours. I tested his theory and I lost weight more rapidly using a combi-nation of Banting and intermittent fasting. Calorie restriction was easy. Hunger and cravings don’t plague me and I still like the odd spoon of raw honey. I lost 10 kgs in eight weeks. The fast is effortless. My patients to whom I have prescribed this “lifestyle” confirm that hunger eludes them and they operate with high energy. The Zinczenko sup-port medical team did find that 20 minutes of exercise before you break-fast, speeds up your weight loss significantly.

In summary, if you just want to look good in a swimsuit, that’s short-sighted. Just because you have bought into the idea of Bant-ing does not make it a 24-hour feast. Fasting is the new F-word. Banting tells you what to eat and IF tells you when. n

If you’re fasting intermittently, 20 minutes of exercise a day might speed up weight loss.


Eat better,South Africa

Dr Hassina Kajee with Jonno Proudfoot, Professor Tim Noakes and Jessica Johns (second from right), who lost the most weight during the five-week Ocean View programme.

Eat Better, South Africa! is an initiative by The Noakes Foundation to help under-

resourced communities move away from sugary, high-carbohy-drate and unhealthy “diets” to a real food lifestyle with all its nutritional benefits.

By connecting communities and education, The Noakes Founda-

tion believes that it can help the country fight the growing effect of obesity and diabetes. The Eat Better South Africa! programme is run by a team of expert doctors, nurses and Banting educators.

The pilot programme in Ocean View yielded great success with 98% of the participants losing centimetres, weight as well as noticing an improvement in their general health.

Many who started the pro-

gramme even normalised danger-ously high blood pressure within five weeks.

Following this, The Noakes Foundation has been approached by many other communities to run similar interventions. These include communities in Johan-nesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Atlantis and Bredasdorp.

A community in the Eastern Cape Village of Mtwaku in the Tunga Valley has also asked for

To Page 12


From Page 11much-needed help as they face a lack of clinics in the area and the town hospital is over-crowded with diabetes patients who are mostly elderly. Currently, there are programmes under way in Delft, Lavender Hill and Villiers-dorp.

It is the aim of The Noakes Foundation to raise R1.5-million to ensure that Eat Better South Africa! reaches every province. Those who would like to get involved can help in the following ways:

n By donating money through The Noakes Foundation’s cam-paign on www.generosity.com. For the campaign to be a success, 15 000 Banters/LCHF advocates must donate R100 or $10 each.

n Donations via The Noakes Foundation website: http://www.thenoakesfoundation.org/donate

n Banking details for donations via EFT (electronic bank payment)

Some of the Ocean View participants were Alison Delcarme, Francis Phalane, Nasreen Riley, Angeline Lamb, Tania September and Gillian Petersen.

Dr Hassina Kajee.


are: The Noakes Foundation, Standard Bank, South Africa, Account Number: 271624914, Swift Code: SBZAZAJJ.

For more information about the Ocean View Community Project, have a look at the video on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCxV5Js0twY

For more information about Eat Better South Africa!, visit www.the-noakesfoundation.org or contact [email protected].

Or you can follow the Eat Bet-ter South Africa! campaign and programme developments by liking The Noakes Foundation Fa-cebook page and following these Twitter handles:

@jaynebullen@ProfTimNoakes@eatbetterSA n

Tim Noakes.

Tim Noakes and actress Euodia Samson


The key to success isknowledge

Low-carb diets and their synonyms such as Banting are increasingly debated in the public domain.

There is definitely a shift in aware-ness among people who believe that paying attention to what we eat is essential to health.

Carb restriction and increased healthy fat intake is a lifestyle nutrition strategy that will benefit many, whether they suffer from obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome or simply want to improve their general health, weight and energy levels.

The key to success is knowledge and the key to knowledge is knowing where to look for credible information.

Many of the fears that people have about changing to a low-carb diet are unfounded and the problem is that we, as yet, do not have a loud consensus emanating from health professionals, be they doctors or dieticians, and so to a large extent, the public and our patients have to seek out informa-tion and advice to follow.

As a medical doctor who has reviewed the subject of low-carb nutrition for over three years, I am reasonably convinced from a scientific evidence-based perspec-tive that we are on the right track to make great strides in improving individual and public health by ad-

vocating a nutritional strategy that cuts processed foods, and their high content of sugar and refined carbs from our diet.

Question: I suffer from irrita-ble bowel syndrome and I’m worried that if I change to the Banting diet, my IBS will become worse than ever. I think I have a very sensitive stomach and I’m not sure that all this fat will be good for me.

— Johan van Wyk.

Johan, in fact, your symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may improve or even settle on a low-carb higher-

fat nutrition programme. Fat intake is not generally associated with IBS, but there are some stud-ies and numerous case reports of patients experiencing improve-ments in their IBS once carbs and specifically wheat-based carbs

Excessive gas production by gut bacteria in response to refined carbs can cause bloating and tummy cramps.


Dr Austin Jeans is a medical doctor specialising in sport and exercise medicine and is currently based in Harare, Zimbabwe, where he has practised medicine for 30 years. He graduated from the Godfrey Huggins School of Medi-cine in Harare and did his postgraduate degree in sports medicine at the University of Cape Town. He is the Medical Director of the Rolf Valley Sports Medicine Centre and the Innovate High Performance Centre. He has introduced lifestyle and nutrition programmes for health as an integral part of these centre’s activities in recent years. He has been the chief medical officer to three Olympic teams, three Africa Games teams, national cricket, rugby, judo and hockey teams, and consults for several of Zimbabwe’s national sports federations. He is a member of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee’s Medical Commis-sion and sits on World Rugby’s Developing Nations Medical Sub-committee. He has written many press articles and given lectures on subjects relating to low-carb, high-fat nu-trition, health and activity over the past three years. He is a former competitive swimmer and has written a book, soon to be published, on low-carb nutrition, health and sport.

are restricted from the diet. IBS in some cases is associated with a degree of gluten sensitivity and even frank coeliac disease (a dis-ease of severe gluten intolerance). A 2009 study by Gregory Austin et al, on a small group of patients with IBS, who had diarrhoea-pre-dominant symptoms, concluded that a very low-carb diet im-proved their abdominal pain, stool habits and quality of life.

Question: I’ve been Banting for a few months and it’s going well, but whenever I cheat and have carbs like pizza, I feel bloated and get stomach cramps. Why is this happening? — Kelly Smith.

Kelly, your experience of intestinal distress when you re-expose yourself to wheat-

based carbs like pizza is very common in people who are on and off a Banting diet. There are

several possible causes of bloating and tummy cramps. You may be experiencing a degree of gluten sensitivity when you re-introduce wheat to your intestines, or a more prominent theory is that you affect the intestinal bacteria and their capacity to digest the food. We know that one of the benefits of a low-carb diet is to positively influence the type and functions of the gut bacteria we host (the so-called “gut microbiome”) and that re-exposure to refined carbs and sugar can alter both the type of bacteria and what these intesti-nal organisms do with the digested food. Excessive gas production by gut bacteria in response to re-fined carbs can cause bloating and tummy cramps.

Question: My whole life, I have eaten pap and meat. Surely my system is used to this food? If I change to eating all these veg-gies and fats, won’t it be too much of a shock to my system

which has been used to the pap diet for 45 years? — Musa Khumalo.

Musa, if you have eaten pap and meat your whole life, you enjoy good health and a

healthy weight then don’t feel that you need to radically change your diet. If, however, you are over-weight or have pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes then you should consider a dietary change. Chang-ing to a low-carb higher-fat nutri-tion programme is beneficial for most people, but especially for those with weight and diabetes challenges. Reducing your intake of refined carbs such as pap can be a very healthy change. It is unlikely to be a “shock” to your system to eat more veggies and fat, but we know that it can take two to three weeks for your body to get used to less carb and more healthy fat in your food, a process we call “fat adaptation”. n


My Banting When did you start Banting and why? How did you learn the rules about Banting?I lost both my parents to heart attacks. I didn’t want to die young and leave behind my beautiful children. I started on 7 September and joined a health challenge, and despite it not focusing on Bant-ing, it did help me to be account-able and make the commitment. I have seen great success by other friends online who were following Banting.

What was your initial experience of Banting? Did you find it easy or difficult to stick to?I found it hard in the first week. Not really the food, but the carb flu that I suffered was pretty intense. I was dedicated and kept the food simple, buying bacon, eggs, butter and avocado with as many green list veggies as were on sale.

How many other diets did you try before Banting and what was your experience with those other diets?I have done Atkins, low-carb/low-fat, and just generally trying to eat better, removing processed foods and additives. Nothing compares to how whole I feel now that I am Banting.

Take us through your meals for

the day and the week. What did you normally have for breakfast, lunch and supper?I rely on bacon and eggs, cooked in butter, for brunch, but some-times, I will have a salad with bacon and avocado. I don’t eat until about 11am every day. Sometimes, I will eat leftovers from my dinner the night before. I usually make a roast once a

week and freeze it in portions to quickly reheat for supper. I only eat twice a day.

Did you incorporate dairy products into your diet? If so, how much?I have dairy every day, usually butter and cream. I also have cheese most days, but not necessarily every day. I always

Sarah Barnbrook tells us how she lost 70cm

Sarah Barnbrook before (left) and after (right) Banting.


journey

have a wide variety of cheese in the fridge. I also eat full-fat greek yoghurt several times a week, usually with supper.

What treats did you allow yourself and how often?I will have berries and double cream several times a week. I also have nuts a few times a week (macadamia, almonds, pecans).

Did you experience any medical benefits to the low-carb high-fat lifestyle? Did you notice any changes to your body in addition to the weight loss?I have reduced the inflammation in my hip and knee so much that I don’t need medication. I also previously had GERD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) and

now I’m off my medication. I have so much energy, it’s great.

How long have you been Banting and how much weight/centimetres have you lost in that time?I have lost more than 12kg since I started and more than 70cm all over my body, most notably on my waist (18cm), hips (9cm) and thighs (10cm off each thigh).

Do you exercise or work out? If so, what do you do and why?Initially, I was walking a lot as part of my health challenge, so I did about 15 000 steps a day. But, I stopped about three weeks into the challenge because the research I did showed that I should wait a bit longer to be truly fat adapted.

What advice would you give fellow Banters who aren’t losing weight?Just eat real food. Stop measuring your success by the scale. Look for the other ways you are improving. How are your clothes feeling? Now that my health challenge is over, I have packed my scale away. Many times over the six weeks, my weight would drastically fluctuate despite staying committed to my plan. Our bodies are always in a state of transition. If you stay on the plan as best you can, you should eventually see results. The time is going to pass no matter what, so you might as well focus on healing your body while it goes by. n

Sarah lost 12kg as well as 70cm. Photos: Sarah Barnbrook


Recipes These recipes are courtesy of Dalene Crafford of The Banting Warehouse. Check the site (www.bantingwarehouse.com) for more content

RaSPBeRRy CHIa PuddINg

This is such a delightful pastel-pink chia pudding. Just looking at it makes me happy.

I tried chia seeds a few years ago when I first heard about them and did not like them one bit. I think I ate them dry.

Only recently did I discover chia pudding. Now I’m hooked.

I developed this easy, filling LCHF recipe with frozen rasp-berries so that you can enjoy it all-year round.

It also works with frozen blue-berries, blackberries and straw-berries.

This chia pudding makes a lovely banting breakfast. Just mix every-

thing together and chill overnight (or for a few hours). That’s all there is to it. The chia seeds will work their magic during the night and your pudding will be ready at the crack of dawn.

Entertaining soon? Look no further. This effortless pudding will make a delightful brunch or din-ner dessert.

Serve it in small cups or glasses and top with extra raspberries and mint leaves. Maybe even add a sprinkling of finely chopped 90% cocoa dark chocolate. Guaran-teed to win the hearts of your Banting as well as non-Banting guests.

INgRedIeNTS– 3/4 cup double cream yoghurt

– 1/4 cup cream– 1/2 cup (50 g) frozen raspberries– 2 teaspoons chia seeds– 1/2 − 1 teaspoon Xylitol (optional)– extra frozen or thawed raspber-ries to decorate

MeTHOd1. Mix the yoghurt, cream, frozen raspberries and chia seeds. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least four hours, or overnight.2. When ready to serve, give the pudding a good stir. Taste and add the Xylitol if needed. Serve in cups or bowls. Decorate with the extra raspberries. You can keep this pudding in the fridge for several days.Serving size: Makes 1 cup.


COCONuT CuRRy SINgle SOuP Do yourself a favour and experi-ence a totally different kind of “instant” soup.

A rich, creamy coconut curry soup, which is LCHF and dairy-free.

I call it a “single soup” as the recipe makes a generous portion for one person. Ideal for single Banters to enjoy at home or work. Please do not be tempted to leave out the tomato paste. You won’t believe what a differ-ence a teaspoon of tomato paste can make. As with all my recipes, I have tested this one many times. Without the tomato paste, the wonderful flavours in this soup remain raw and “unconnected”:

INgRedIeNTS– 1 cup coconut cream (before opening, shake the can or box very well to mix any separated fat and water. Also give the coco-nut cream a thorough stir before

measuring it).– 1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder– 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger– 1/4 teaspoon turmeric– 1 teaspoon tomato paste (for recipes like this, where only a small amount of tomato paste is required, I keep a tube of Italian tomato paste in the fridge. Much better than opening a tin for just – 1 teaspoon of paste. You’ll find tomato paste in tubes at delis and some grocery stores. It is very convenient, not expensive and tastes really good too.)– 2 teaspoons chopped fresh coriander leaves (dhania) or chopped chives– a few thin strips of red chilli (optional)– 3 − 4 tablespoons drained, canned tuna (I use solid tuna in brine. No need to flake the tuna; it will break up during cooking.) You can replace the tuna with cooked, diced chicken, cooked shrimps or cooked vegetables such as sliced baby marrows (zucchini/cour-

gettes), chopped spinach, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, chopped green beans, sliced mushrooms, diced eggplant (brinjal/aubergine) or diced pumpkin.– salt to taste– milled black pepper to taste

MeTHOd1. Add all the ingredients to a soup bowl or large coffee mug. Stir well.2. Microwave on High (100% power) for I minute. Stir well to dissolve the tomato paste. Micro-wave on High (100% power) for a further 30 seconds – 1 minute, or until heated through. Keep an eye on the soup to prevent it from boiling over. Stir and enjoy.

daleNe’S TIPSIf preferred, cook the soup in a small saucepan on top of the stove.

For a lighter version, make this soup without adding the tuna, chicken, shrimps or veggies.


BaNTeR’S IRISH COFFee

An eating plan should never become dull and dreary. It should always remain fresh and exciting. If not, one might lose interest, become despondent and fall off the wagon.I find that something as simple as just serving an old faithful such as coffee and cream in a new way, can instantly lift the spirits. Like this Banter’s Irish Coffee. (And no, you don’t have to add any whiskey.)

You can have these coffees every day, or you might like to bring them in at the end of your Bant-ing dinner party in place of des-sert. They will round off the meal perfectly.

INgRedIeNTS– Freshly brewed, hot, strong black coffee– Softly whipped fresh cream (I use a hand-held electric beater for whipping.)– Cocoa powder to sprinkle

MeTHOd1. Rinse heatproof glasses with hot water and pour the black cof-fee into the glasses.2. Very carefully spoon an extra thick layer of cream on top of the coffee. I do it slowly, spoon by spoon – not all at once – until the coffee is covered by the cream.3. Sprinkle a little cocoa powder on top. Serve immediately. Best when sipped slowly in front of a crackling fire.


CHOC-NuT FaT BOMBS

Fat bombs. Music to a Banter’s ears. These yummy little Banting treats will provide you with loads of good fats. (There is a trend now to rather talk about good fat rather than high fat and it makes perfect sense to me.)

I must stress that I don’t eat these every day, but when I do, I slowly savour a fat bomb from be-ginning to end, enjoying every bit.

I have also included gram measures in the recipe for those who have digital kitchen scales.

INgRedIeNTS– 2 tablespoons (30g) extra- virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil– 2 tablespoons (30g) salted butter (I prefer salted butter, but unsalted butter works fine, too.)– 3 tablespoons (45g) nut butter (I like to use roasted macada-mia nut butter for these bombs. Ensure that you are using a nut

butter made exclusively from nuts with no additions such as sugar, for example.)– 1 tablespoon (5g) cocoa powder– 1 teaspoon (5g) xylitol (optional)

MeTHOd1. Place the coconut oil, butter, nut butter and cocoa powder in a smallish microwaveable bowl. Give the ingredients a quick stir. Microwave for 30 seconds on High (100% power). Stir.2. Heat for a further 15 seconds on High (100% power). Ensure that the mixture does not reach boiling point. Stir well until all the ingredients are blended. Taste, and add xylitol only if necessary. De-pending on the nut butter used, I sometimes don’t add the full tea-spoon of xylitol and sometimes I don’t add any at all.3. Carefully spoon or pour the hot mixture into small silicone moulds. I use chocolate moulds, but silicone ice trays will also

work well. Freeze for an hour or two until rock hard. Once frozen, pop the fat bombs out of the moulds and store in a sealed container in the freezer.

daleNe’S TIPSIf preferred, melt the ingredients in a small saucepan on top of the stove.

Use low heat and stir all the time as the nut butter might stick to the bottom of the saucepan when heated.

I have various silicone choco-late moulds (different shapes and designs), which I use for making fat bombs.

Some of mine have their own stands, which are really useful in keeping the mixture level and avoiding spilling when transferring to the freezer. If your mould does not have its own stand, place the mould on a large plate or small baking tray prior to filling the mould. It makes life much easier.


Recipes These recipes are courtesy of The Banting Chef. Check the site (www.thebantingchef.co.za) for more content

SPINaCH, MuSHROOM aNd FeTa quICHe

Preparation time: 20 minsCooking time: 25 minsServes: 4Posted by: S WarrickerPhoto by: S Warricker

INgRedIeNTS– 240g mushrooms– 1/2 tsp garlic, crushed– 300g spinach, shredded– 4 large eggs– 1 cup milk– 60g feta cheese– 1/4 cup parmesan, grated– 1/2 cup mozzarella, grated– To taste salt and pepper

MeTHOd1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 2. Rinse the mushrooms and slice them thinly. Place the sliced mush-rooms in a non-stick pan or use non-stick spray in a normal pan. Add the crushed garlic and sprin-kle a little salt and pepper. Turn the heat onto medium-high and saute the mushrooms until they release all of their moisture and no more water remains on the bottom of the pan (5-7 minutes).3. Spray a pie dish with non-stick spray. Spread the spinach out on the bottom of the pie dish. Next, add the cooked mushrooms and crumble the feta over.4. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk

together the eggs until fairly smooth. Add the milk, parmesan, and another small sprinkle of pepper. Whisk to combine. (This step can be completed while the mushrooms are cooking.) Pour this mixture into the pie dish over the spinach, mushrooms and feta.5. Sprinkle the shredded moz-zarella cheese over the top. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet for easy transfer into the oven. Place the quiche into the preheated oven and bake until it is golden brown on top and the centre is solid. Every oven is different, but this should take between 45 min-utes to an hour. 6. Slice and serve.


SPINaCH aNd RICOTTa gNOCCHI wITH POMOdORO SauCe

Preparation time: 20 minsCooking time: 165 minsServes: 4-6Posted by: Pippa RixPhoto by: Taste

gNOCCHI:– 2 packets baby spinach– 2 tubs ricotta, drained– 1 egg– 2 spring onions– 4 Tbsp parmesan, grated– 1 pinch nutmeg– To taste salt and pepper

POMOdORO:(Tomato Sauce)– 4 tins Italian tomatoes– 1 large onion, chopped

– 2 sticks celery, chopped– 2 cloves garlic, peeled– 1 small tin tomato puree– 150ml red wine– To flavour basil leaves– To flavour italian herbs– 1 pinch xylitol– To taste salt and pepper

MeTHOd1. Preheat the oven to 175C.2. Finely chop the spring onions and dice the Italian tomatoes.3. GNOCCHI: Wilt the spinach, cool, then squeeze out excess moisture. Chop the spinach finely, then add crumbled ricotta, on-ion, beaten egg, parmesan and seasonings. Mould the mixture into small balls and place onto a greased baking tray. Dot the balls with knobs of butter and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the

oven and drizzle with olive oil. 4. Lower the oven temperature to 150C.5. POMODORO: Sauté the onion and celery, in an ovenproof pot, slowly in butter until soft. Stir in the tomato concentrate and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and reduce for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and herbs and allow to come to a gentle boil. Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Take it out of the oven and allow to cool. Puree once cool, but not completely smooth. You can add the xylitol to offset the acidity. Add the fresh basil and season to taste. 6. Serve the sauce with the gnocchi.7. The sauce keeps for ages and can be frozen.


Green listGreen is an all-you-can-eat list — you choose anything you like without worrying about the carbohydrate content as all the foods will be between 0 to 5g/100g.

It will be almost impossible to overdo your carbohydrate intake by sticking to this group of foods. Overeating protein is not recommended, so eat a moderate amount of animal protein at

each meal. Include as much fat as you are com-fortable with, bearing in mind that Banting is high in fat.

Caution: even though these are all-you-can-eat foods, only eat when hungry, stop when full and do not overeat. The size and thickness of your palm without fingers is a good measure for a serving of animal protein.

aNIMal PROTeIN (unless these have a rating, they are all 0g/100g)n All eggsn All meats, poultry and gamen All natural and cured meats (pancetta, parma ham, coppa etc)n All natural and cured sau-sages (salami, chorizo etc)n All offaln All seafood (except sword-fish and tilefish - high mercury content)n Broths

daIRy n Cottage cheesen Creamn Cream cheesen Full-cream Greek yoghurtn Full-cream milkn Hard cheesesn Soft cheeses

FaTSn Any rendered animal fatn Avocado oiln Buttern Cheese - firm, natural, full-fat, aged cheeses (not processed)n Coconut oiln Duck fatn Ghee

n Lardn Macadamia oiln Mayonnaise, full fat only (not from seeds oils)n Olive oil

FlaVOuRINgS aNd CONdIMeNTSAll flavourings and condiments are okay, provided they do not contain sugars and preservatives or vegetable (seed) oils.

NuTS aNd SeedSn Almondsn Flaxseeds (watch out for pre-ground flaxseeds, they go rancid quickly and become toxic)n Macadamia nutsn Pecan nutsn Pine nutsn Pumpkin seeds

n Sunflower seedsn Walnuts

SweeTeNeRSn Erythritol granulesn Stevia powdern Xylitol granules

VegeTaBleSn All green leafy vegetables (spinach, cabbage, lettuces etc)n Any other vegetables grown above the ground (except but-ternut)n Artichoke heartsn Asparagusn Auberginesn Avocadosn Broccolin Brussel sproutsn Cabbagen Cauliflowern Celeryn Courgettesn Leeksn Mushroomsn Olivesn Onionsn Peppersn Pumpkinn Radishesn Sauerkrautn Spring onionsn Tomatoes


Orange listOrange is made up of ingredients containing be-tween 6g and 25g of carbs per 100g (6% - 25%).

Chart your carbohydrates without getting obsessive and still obtain an excellent outcome. If you are endeavouring to go into ketosis, this list

will assist you to stay under a total of 50g carbs for the day.

These are all net carbs and they are all 23 to 25g per indicated amount. Ingredients are all fresh unless otherwise indicated.

FRuITSn Apples 1.5n Bananas 1 smalln Blackberries 3.5 Cn Blueberries 1.5 Cn Cherries (sweet) 1 Cn Clementines 3n Figs 3 smalln Gooseberries 1.5 Cn Grapes (green) under 1 Cn Guavas 2n Kiwi fruits 3n Litchis 18n Mangos, sliced, under 1 Cn Nectarines 2n Oranges 2n Pawpaw 1n Peaches 2n Pears (Bartlett) 1n Pineapple, sliced, 1 Cn Plums 4n Pomegranate ½n Prickly pears 4n Quinces 2n Raspberries 2 Cn Strawberries 25n Watermelon 2 C

NuTSn Cashews, raw, 6 Tn Chestnuts, raw, 1 C

SweeTeNeRSn Honey 1 t

VegeTaBleSn Butternut 1.5 C

n Carrots 5n Sweet potato 0.5 C

Key C = cups per dayT = tablespoons per dayt = teaspoons per day

g = grams per dayFor example: 1.5 apples are all the carbs you can have off the orange list for the day (if you want to go into ketosis and make sure you are under 50g total carbs for the day).


Red listRed will contain all the foods to avoid as they will be either toxic (eg: seed oils, soya) or high-carbo-hydrate foods (eg: potatoes, rice).

We strongly suggest you avoid all the items on

this list, or, at best, eat them very occasionally and restrict the amount when you do. They will do nothing to help you in your attempt to reach your goal.

BaKed gOOdSn All flours from grains - wheat flour, cornflour, rye flour, barley flour, pea flour, rice flour etcn All forms of breadn All grains - wheat, oats, barley, rye, amaranth, quinoa, teff etcn Beans (dried)n “Breaded” or battered foodsn Bransn Breakfast cereals, muesli, granola of any kindn Buckwheatn Cakes, biscuits, con-fectionaryn Corn products - popcorn, polenta, corn thins, maizen Couscousn Crackers, cracker breadsn Milletn Pastas, noodlesn Ricen Rice cakesn Sorghumn Speltn Thickening agents such as gravy powder, maize starch or stock cubes

BeVeRageSn Beer, cidern Fizzy drinks (sodas) of any description other than carbon-ated watern Lite, zero, diet drinks of any

description

daIRy / daIRy-RelaTedn Cheese spreads, commercial spreadsn Coffee creamersn Commercial almond milkn Condensed milkn Fat-free anythingn Ice cream

n Puddingsn Reduced-fat cow’s milkn Rice milkn Soy milk

FaTSn All seed oils (safflow-er, sunflower, canola,

grapeseed, cottonseed, corn)n Chocolaten Commercial sauces, mari-nades and salad dressingsn Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils including mar-garine, vegetable oils, vegetable fats

FRuITS aNd VegeTaBleSn Fruit juice of any kindn Vegetable juices (other than home-made with Green list vegetables)

geNeRal

n All fast foodn All processed foodn Any food with added sugar such as glucose, dextrose etc

MeaTn All unfermented soya (veg-etarian “protein”)n Meats cured with excessive sugarn Vienna sausages, luncheon meats

STaRCHy VegeTaBleSn Beetrootsn Legumesn Parsnipsn Peanutsn Peasn Potatoes (regular)

SweeTeNeRSn Agave anythingn Artificial sweeteners (aspar-tame, acesulfame K, saccharin, sucralose, splenda)n Cordialsn Dried fruitn Fructosen Honey (except for 1t on orange list)n Maltn Sugarn Sugared or commercially pickled foods with sugarn Sweetsn Syrups of any kind


Photo: RGB Stock

The last wordStop beating yourself upIf there’s one thing we generally all excel at, it’s our ability to beat ourselves up, especially when we cheat.Instead of accepting what we did wrong and moving on, we focus on feeling bad about whatever it is we did and that prevents us from making any progress.

It’s especially difficult when the people around us add to our guilt because that makes us want to cheat even more. We feel hopeless, stupid and sometimes, we even feel depressed. It’s a mistake we all make, so let’s break that cycle and instead of turning a cheat meal into a week-long cheating session, let’s rather forgive ourselves and do our best not to cheat again, and more importantly, not to allow one cheat to snowball into several cheats.

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Banting Guru November 2015

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Transcript of Banting Guru November 2015